Pectinia Coral

[RubberFrog]

Does anyone here have/had one of these? Information on the web is sparse and conflicting. It probably doesn't help that there several types of pectinia and none of them have a common name to reference. Almost every link seems to share the same cut and paste description. The general consensus is "difficult", but anecdotal reports from individuals tell different stories. Some sites/folks say to keep it off the sandbed, others say they thrive on the sand bed. Some say low light, others say it loves the light. Low flow, medium flow, feed it, don't feed it... It goes on and on like that!

 

I picked one up last weekend rather impulsively (I know...). It has "fleshed out" a bit since I got it and I think this is a good thing, but I'm not really sure. I fed it a little zooplankton with the lights on and didn't really observe it responding to the food in any way. I stayed up for several hours after lights out and never saw any tentacles come out to feed. At this point I have it tucked into a small alcove on the sandbed in a low-medium light area with a low-medium flow (trying to cover my bases).

 

Mine looks a lot like this currently-

[Jan]

Pretty. I would try moderate flow and moderate light and spot feed it a couple of times a week. Since it's stationary I'd say it needs the medium flow to make sure detritus does not stay on it and cause dead spots, also to carry food and minerals its way. At medium light you may see it expand, stay the same or get larger over a few days. Observe it. Act according to what you've observed. How it responds. It looks like and LPS but it's classified as an SPS. All SPS need a lot of light. Some need high flow. So my thoughts are to start at a mid point. Just my 2 cents. I have no experiencewith this coral.

[OUsnakebyte]

This is a very cool looking coral when the colony is grown out (growth form is sweet), and I don't think they get nearly enough love. When we organized the Singapore spawning workshop in 2010, this is one of the corals that we worked with (other than the acroporids). So, while I have no experience keeping it in captivity, I can provide some observations from the wild.

 

First, it's in the Family Pectiniidae, which also includes Echinophyllia (aren't these called 'chalices'?) and Mycedium (among others). These are fleshy corals, so I'm not sure why Liveaquaria classifies it under the "SPS" misnomer. Though... since they place mangroves under inverts... I'm not sure I trust them too much...

 

Anyway, I can you tell that when collecting them, I don't remember seeing them sitting in the sand or rubble. Most colonies I remember being up on the reef, but they were in the 20-40 foot range, not the 10-20 foot range where you find the most arcoporids and other "SPS-type" corals. That's not to say that it CAN'T live on the sand - I honestly don't know. But, you might start it out low and then move it 1/4 or so up your reef.

 

As it settles in, it will feed - all corals feed. Placing some small, chopped fish or shrimp on/near the mouth should induce it to feed, but I always have problems preventing my fish from stealing the food, unless I guard the coral with an egg-crate jail.

 

Good luck with it - it's growth form is very distinct and, at least to me, very neat looking.

 

As an aside... these things produce HUGE egg/sperm bundles. I'm not kidding - about 1/4"-1/2" in diameter with THOUSANDS of eggs, which is a far cry from the 10-20 you get out of Acropora egg/sperm bundles.

 

Cheers

Mike

Edited February 10, 2012 by OUsnakebyte

[RubberFrog]

Thank you both for the information.

 

OU, do you remember it's orientation on the reef? Some of the info I have found indicates that it prefers to be placed vertical, as opposed to horizontal, to prevent debris from collecting on it. I have seen pictures of it placed both ways.

 

When I got it, it looked much "spindlier", like this picture on live aquaria, except it was a deeper blue with brown tips.

 

Since we got it home, it has become fleshier, like the picture in my first post. There has been some debate at home as to whether or not this is a good thing. I suspect the spindly appearance is a matter of stress from collection and transport.

 

The first pic below is of it's tankmate at the store under blue leds- the colors are off due to cellphone quality, but you can clearly see the form of it. The second pic is how it looks in my tank under a T5 ( my MH is not on yet).

Edited February 10, 2012 by RubberFrog

[davelin315]

I used to see them a lot and had a couple but they seemed to recede quite often, whether in my care or in the stores, and slowly die off.

[OUsnakebyte]

OU, do you remember it's orientation on the reef? Some of the info I have found indicates that it prefers to be placed vertical, as opposed to horizontal, to prevent debris from collecting on it. I have seen pictures of it placed both ways.

 

The ones I saw sit as yours does there.

 

Here are some photos from both Indonesia and Singapore waters. Indonesia = super clear water, Singapore.... not so much...

 

 

Indonesia - these are up in the reef framework:

 

 

 

Middle left and bottom right:

 

 

 

Bottom, left:

 

 

 

 

And, then it seems as if they can also be found on the sand - so, I'm not sure it matters so much.

 

 

Singapore, with HEAVY sedimentation in the water column. Pectinia found both in the sand and in the reef matrix:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were working with P. lactuca (which is what most of these photos are), but yours seems to resemble P. paeonia, though as the colony grows, it will be easier to tell. P. lactuca has longer peaks and valleys. P. paeonia forms spires. But again, larger growth of the colony will help here.

 

 

Again, good luck with it - keep us posted.

 

Cheers

Mike

Edited February 10, 2012 by OUsnakebyte

[RubberFrog]

Thank you for the info. I have a spot a few inches off the sandbed that has moderate lighting that looks promising. I think I will mnitor each night and see if it starts to put out some tentacles for feeding.